


A Journey Alone

by orphan_account



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work, Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Fantasy, Inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, Magic, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:28:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23619775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Magnus" knows what it's like to be observed almost every moment of every day for your entire life. He knows from reading books that that's not normal. It is for him. Privacy is something he's never known. Except for in his head. There are things that happen in there that he doesn't have to explain. Secrets became exciting to keep. Made him happy. It was something that he could have for himself alone.And then something in his head changed. And he started to realize that maybe it was time to go someplace where he could have more than just secrets. Maybe it was time he stopped being "Magnus".





	A Journey Alone

_ Subject #: 92 _

_ Classification: A/D _

_ Group 1: "Cassilia" _

_ Group 2: "Origin" _

_ Subject 92, project name "Magnus", possesses recombinant genetic material and magical essences from "Cassilia" and "Origin" sources.  _

_ Cassilion physical traits inherited include the following: _

_ Silver-colored skin- resistant to electric currents, low-temperature conditions, introduction of acidic agents.  _

_ Gold-colored eyes, advanced night-time vision. _

_ Enhanced physical capability, improved muscle fiber density.  _

_ Origin physical traits inherited include the following: _

_ Black nails- advanced hardness/resilience to physical elements, suited to animalistic purposes, i.e. shredding/tearing. _

_ Enhanced physical capability, improved muscle fiber capacity.  _

_ Improved physical toughness- resistant to electric currents, introduction of poisonous agents.  _

_ Cassilion magical aptitudes include the following: _

_ None.  _

_ Origin magical aptitudes include the following: _

_ Highly sensitive mana attunement.  _

_ High capacity for mana redistribution.  _

_ High focus capabilities on limited effects, namely heat-based.  _

_ Magnus suffers from a number of weaknesses/disabilities, detailed below: _

_ Gradual decay of vision-based capabilities in well-lit conditions. Improved night vision remains unaffected. Cause unknown.  _

_ Auditory hallucinations. Described as "pictures of threats". Cause unknown.  _

_ Emotional instability. Mood swings not supported by chemical activity result in aggressive behavior. Cause unknown.  _

“While not an outright failure in terms of capability and capacity, Subject 92 has been deemed unfit for introduction into a public test stage. Note specifically the subject’s emotional instabilities which, should they trigger at an inopportune time, would result in an exposure incident that would need to be handled by-”

Tanner could feel his focus waning with every droning word Professor Jeul’en let loose, his eyes glossing over the words before him and rereading them one more time in an attempt to comprehend them. Last night’s late study-session-turned-impromptu-drink-night had been an awful decision. Normally a new subject to study would be fascinating for him to pore over, with new abilities and unique combinations of traits, and he would eat up the information before him. Not today. The energy just wasn’t there even though he could still feel the twinkle of curiosity in his eyes when they weren’t itching like crazy. 

After all, how often did a Cassilion Subject grace the lower level classes with its presence? 

The Cassilia group was legendary. In the 100-year history of the Thyrilin Academy, there had only been 3 known tests that had survived to adulthood from it but they had provided more profound results than all the rest combined. Angelic blood was so difficult to work with but so rewarding when it worked in one’s favor. 

Even the fact that this Subject would only be able to see the insides of the Academy was miraculous. The odds were stacked against his very survival. 

With a herculean effort Tanner at least pried his eyes away from his text display, peering into the enclosure that 92 resided in. Like most of the spaces reserved for them, it was lavish in that it held everything the Subject could ever want: food, shelter, entertainment, education, whatever. This one’s observation area consisted of a vast library/sitting room and a quick pan through its archive listing showed texts on history, magic, and the studies of multiple worlds. A collection that even Tanner would have difficulty getting into without some incentive. Very dry, academic stuff. 

But what he didn’t see was the Subject. 

Not an uncommon occurrence really. It wasn’t as if they were put on display like a zoo animal at all times. They had their own lives to live, constrained as they were. He would have hoped to see all the same though. It got boring seeing all these empty habitats while the professors just talked over the Subject summaries that they would inevitably read anyway. It was unfortunate that they couldn't be observed at all times like an animal test subject but they were still people in a sense and deserved their privacy. 

"-and Subject 92's current regimen of testing is intended to determine compatibility in regards to Anithian augmentations, beginning with hair follicle replacements and gradually testing other grafts until the aforementioned issues with decaying vision can be corrected."

Actual experimentation and  _ real _ study was reserved for the Master-level students that were preparing to take independent projects. 

He would get there one day-

"Oh. Here it comes now," Jeul'en noted in a dry tone, tucking long hair behind a pointy ear. The professor clearly realized that the students in attendance were about to hear none of his words now that "Magnus" had stepped into view. 

Tanner did crinkle his nose at the Professor's use of the word "it" to describe 92 but he couldn't deny the rush of excitement he felt despite it. Nor the shocking realization that 92 was unquestionably  _ beautiful.  _ He hadn't expected that at all. It pulled his drooping eyelids wide open. 

Magnus' plain choices in apparel, a baggy hooded sweater and denim pants no different than what the students wore to class, took nothing from his breathtaking appearance. His skin was truly  _ silver _ , possessing a metallic sheen under the soft white lighting. Long, midnight black locks fell down to the mid-thigh over the arch of a beautiful back. The golden eyes they had read about had a faint mist over them but still shone with a keen intellect, guiding him to one of the many shelves of books. 

Tanner heard a collective sigh from his group as they observed the graceful way Magnus moved, extending a long-fingered hand tipped in dangerous-looking blackened claws to pull a tome down and thumb through it. 

_ I wonder what he would do if he didn't live in here? _

"Enjoying yourselves?"

Several people startled as a growling, unknown voice echoed through the observation room, Tanner included. While everyone else looked around for its source, he felt he was the first to realize that it wasn't anyone behind them that had spoken.

It was Magnus. And he had locked eyes on them. 

_ That's supposed to be a solid wall from his side… He shouldn't be able to see us.  _

But he could. He was walking over to the one-way see-through wall, with the relaxed gait of one engaging in a casual conversation. 

But the look on his face held the promise of something else. 

_ That was anger. _

_ Rage _ . 

Feral. Primal.  _ Terrifying.  _

"Calm down, everyone. Even if it could see us, nothing will bring down the barriers between us. It enjoys making a show," Jeul'en said in an indifferent tone. 

That didn't stop everyone in the group from backing away a few steps. 

All except Tanner, who now stood mere inches away, transfixed by those  _ eyes.  _

"What are you learning about over there? My disfigured body? My crippled mind? My failing eyes?" Magnus' voice raised tens of decibels with each word without the strain of a shout, mana no doubt surging through his vocal cords. 

The sound reverberated in Tanner's ears, leaving him dizzy and in pain. 

_ That's so painful but I wanna know: How does that work without a spell incantation? _

"92, return to your books and stop harassing the class. Shouting is unnecessary."

"Those aren't very useful lessons, boys and girls. Y'know what'd be  _ better  _ to learn about?"

Magnus' question thundered through Tanner's skull, ignorant of the Professor's call for quiet. 

There was a flash of light as fire erupted in Magnus' room, setting the entire space ablaze in an instant. Jeul'en could do nothing but take a shocked step back of his own. 

_ I want to know what I should learn.  _

Tanner's classmates screamed, drowning out the sudden roar as the fire turned from red to white,  _ melting _ the wall that separated them from Magnus. 

So none of them heard the true subject of Magnus' lesson. 

But Tanner did. 

He heard the whisper as a blazing hand curled around his throat. 

_ Let's learn about Freedom.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary: Thyrilin Academy
> 
> Established in 147 UW by Magnus Thyrilin I, the Thyrilin Academy was founded in answer to public demand for easily-accessible, magic-basic learning institutions following the Coalescence. Attending students possessed of suitable talent could pursue a certified degree qualifying them as authorities in magic, the newest defining subject of the age. 
> 
> Magnus Thyrilin advocated strongly in the public eye for the Humans of Earth to be capable of standing upon the same field as the denizens of the other worlds in terms of magical capability, believing magic to be the single most important science of the modern era. Lobbying in the great governments of the world for progressive change, his open invitation to his college drew in applicants in droves, marking the beginning of a learning movement that would define the next thirty years while he lived. His efforts saw private, government-funded research facilities slowly transition into becoming public colleges; and community colleges advocating the traditional sciences adopted magic as a new area for study as well. 
> 
> Magic was suffused into the culture of every world outside of Earth. It was time to join the  
> modern times and forge a new way to the future with these new forces of nature. 
> 
> By Knowledge The Means. Through Magic The Way.
> 
> In the current year 250 UW the Academy has become a private institution, with impressive onboarding costs payable only by the wealthy elite or the extraordinarily hardworking. This departure from the Academy's original intent to serve as a place of learning for any who sought it out has largely been instituted by Magnus Thyrilin IV, great-grandson to the founding father. He seeks deeper knowledge of the potential living within the races of the many worlds Earth now shares space with but believes only the privileged few have the qualifications to ferret it out. 
> 
> Its labyrinthine dungeons and underground halls contain clandestine research facilities whose existence remains hidden from the public eye, sanctioning experimental and highly controversial tests that could shake the worlds to their core...


End file.
